A flying testbed for airfoil research:
This P-38 had a second cockpit (sans controls) added to the left boom to study offset-geometry aircraft.
The one and only pressurized P-38... too heavy, too expensive, too late... it never went into production.
One of over 500 P-38s rejected by the RAF, with USAF markings over the original RAF day camo... and dummy torpedos!
After the war, quite a few survuiving Lightnings were heavily modified for racing, particularly in the Cleveland races. Most of them seemed to vanish after a few races... like this 1946 entrant.
A truly bizarre mod: 1947's Teterboro Special... kinda ugly, but no doubt very fast with those clipped wings!!
This very nice one survived Cleveland and was owned later by P-38 legend "Lefty" Gardner.
My favorite: a wartime experiment that supposedly worked very well, but was developed too late to be of much use.
Next (and last): Lightnings in 1940s color!
